Dear friends,
I am so honored to greet you all as the new Director of MaineShare! I am thrilled to begin this role working with our amazing member groups, dedicated workplace partners, and community donors. MaineShare works with so many change-makers in our beloved state, and I look forward to getting to know you all and sharing in what you do. My professional background includes development of community partnerships, networks, and relationships, and I am confident that we can grow our connections to increase our impact and ability to make sustainable change.
To those of you who joined our anniversary party this month, thank you for the incredibly warm welcome and the chance to learn about our past, celebrate our present, and look forward to our future. It was a wonderful evening filled with stories and laughs shared, and positive energy filled the barn.
The 2021 Workplace Giving Season has begun, and we have had great discussions with our workplace coordinators as well as some presentations to their employees. We are very optimistic about meeting our goal of 110% of our 2020 results. Here are a few highlights of the campaign so far:
Thank you to the campaigns who have recently opened, including Martin’s Point, Maine Audubon, Defend Our Health, Fedco Seeds, Pine Tree Legal and Bicycle Coalition of Maine. We have many more campaigns starting next month, and if you are interested in participating, here are some ways to engage:
I am eager to get to know more of you and encourage you to reach out if you need anything at all. I am so grateful to be learning the ropes from Brenda, and know MaineShare has been lucky to have had her guidance!
With excitement and gratitude,
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Amanda Langley (she/her/hers), Director
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Member Updates and Upcoming Events Worth Your Time |
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Project Spotlight: Bangor McAuley Recovery Residence for Women (and their Children) |
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Portland’s McAuley Residence has long been a safe place for women in need and the opioid crisis has increased that need dramatically. With the growing number of women struggling with substance use disorder came an alarming increase in children being removed from their homes by child protective services.
This unfortunate trend led the McAuley Residence to adopt a two-generational approach to provide robust services targeted at both mothers and their children. This innovative approach has yielded gratifying results, with the program reunifying 95% of the families that come to it, and 80% of its participants remaining abstinent from illicit substances.
With Genesis Fund financing, the McAuley Residence opened a second location in Bangor to help meet this need, in hopes of reaching – and helping – more Maine women and their children. Read more about this story here.
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Ruckus Roundtables, Season 2 Continues
Hardy G*rls Healthy Wom*n continues Season 2 of Ruckus Roundtables with Arts & Social Justice on November 16, from 7-8pm via Zoom. This panel features a local, young filmmaker, a rep from Indigo Arts Alliance, a printmaker from Just Seeds, a performance artist, and more. It is facilitated by a member of our teen Advisory Board. Tune in to hear about activism through art.
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November Naturalist's Almanac from Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox:
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- Be safe in the Maine woods and wear blaze orange through the deer hunting season.
- Bald-faced Hornet nests are becoming visible as trees become bare. You’ll be amazed to see where they were “hiding” all summer.
- Most Garter Snakes have found a place to hibernate for the winter but you’ll occasionally see them still active on warmer November days.
- Happy Turkey Day. The reintroduction of Wild Turkeys in Maine is one of the most successful conservation stories in the state!
Don’t forget to get outside at one of Maine Audubon's eight sanctuaries, free and open to the public from dawn to dusk! maineaudubon.org/visit
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Author Chat November 15th |
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You're invited to a virtual road trip with author Anne Gass! Join the Maine Women’s Lobby Education Fund to learn more about 'We Demand: A Suffrage Roadtrip' and chat with the author herself. Please register here!
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Annual Celebration and Upcoming Events
November 4th, 6-7:30pm: Virtual Annual Celebration! Celebrate the many successes from 2021, watch a series of short Maine films, learn from local experts, and hear personal stories on Maine’s changing coast. Learn more and register here.
November 6th, 10am: Gilsland Farm Walk with Sierra Club Maine: Join Jesse Baines, local Maine lobsterman and kelp farmer, at the Maine Audubon Headquarters to talk about Maine coastal ecology. Register today!
November 6th, 3pm: Walk at Brave Boat Headwaters with Sierra Club Maine Explore the preserve owned by Kittery Land Trust to observe the outdoor world as it gets ready for longer, colder, dark nights. All are welcome, register today!
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Community Listening Sessions
Maine Hospice Council, in collaboration with Northern Light Palliative Care, Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center, and Hospice Volunteers of Hancock County are holding listening sessions with the goal of learning how conversations about serious illness can be more user-friendly for patients and families. During these conversations, information about Advance Care Planning documents (Advance Directives) and POLST are discussed. To learn more about a listening sessions for your area, please contact the Maine Hospice Council at (207) 626-0651.
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Help Families Get the Child Tax Credit!
Please pass this message on to your family, friends and neighbors!
Help is here for caregivers and guardians! If you are the caregiver (grandparent, aunt or uncle, adoptive parent, sibling or a foster parent) of a child under 18, you could be eligible for up to $3,600 per child because of the expanded Child Tax Credit. Call any of these Maine numbers for free, personal help from a CA$H navigator:
- Capital Area CA$H: (207) 621-3430
- Wabanaki CA$H: (207) 866-6546
- Western Maine CA$H: (207) 778-7954
- Prosperity Maine: (207) 797-7890 (non-English speakers)
You can also file a simplified return to claim your child tax credit, even if you don’t have your tax documents. Click here for more info.
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This is just a small sampling of the critical work MaineShare members do to build a better Maine. Please join us in supporting and learning from the great work of ALL our member groups.
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